My Skyrace in Norway 😀

On By Rick McIn health & fitness, hiking, travelLeave a comment

I was stuck in Tromsø — the Paris of the north — waiting on my bike and gear which were stuck at Heathrow airport for over 2 weeks. Why not race !!

Tromsø Skyrace was launched 2014 by Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg.

Kílian Jornet is the fastest mountain runner of all time though Karl Egloff has bettered some of Kilian’s records.

Emelie Forsberg is Kilian’s partner, mother of two, and also an insane mountain runner.

I’d like to claim I was in the mix with the sponsored super athletes in this video … 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

There are 3-4 different distances raced each year. Mine was shortest.

I signed up 2-days in advance of the race for the EASY 16km up and down.

It was more of a hike than a knife edge ridge.

I ended up 153rd, 1hr 44min behind the winner in the short race. My time 3hr 11min.

BUT I was happy with how I did. Running in I still felt great — avoiding muscle cramps which threatened throughout. I’d not really gone running in over a year before this day.

Louise finished ahead of me. We recovered with free vegetarian chile. So tasty, I bought some to take cycling.

In fact, at that point, Louise was wondering what happened to her brother Henry — turned out he had kept going at the short race turnaround. Henry ended up running an extra 7km or so.

Happily, his luck changed later — winning an official race hoody.

Norway – the most successful nation 2022

On By Rick McIn economics, ethics, government, human rights, travelLeave a comment

I’m in Tromsø, Norway as I post.

Most oil rich small nations suffer from severe economic and social issues — but not Norway (5.5 million).

Norway kept control of natural resources in Norway. In 1990 they created the Norway Sovereign Wealth Fund – today worth about $1.2 trillion.

By comparison, the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund where I live is worth only about $18.9 billion. Norway did it right. Alberta did it badly. The 2015 Fraser Institute report titled Fumbling the Alberta Advantage details the bungling.

Norwegians pay some of the highest taxes in the world — but enjoy some of the best health care, education and infrastructure. Small towns well above the Arctic Circle enjoy a good quality of life.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Airlines NOT Paying Compensation

On By Rick McIn bad news, economics, ethics, government, travelLeave a comment

DON’T ASSUME AIRLINES WILL PAY YOU THEIR LEGALLY OBLIGATED COMPENSATION.

Summer 2022, their lawyers are doing everything possible to avoid payouts.

As I feared, Westjet airlines will not compensate me for being stranded at an airport overnight.

They are pretending there was a delay at my international connection in Toronto — my Westjet flight from Europe landed on time and I planned a long layover just-in-case.

My Toronto flight departed 80 minutes late causing me to miss a connection by about 10 minutes.

The problem had nothing to do with my international connection.

My cost was only about $100 and time — so I don’t think I’ll take Westjet to small claims court this time. But if I did, I’m sure I’d win.

westjet-lied-to-meDownload

Find You First by Linwood Barclay

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Yet another intriguing plot from the Canadian author.

This book did keep me interested throughout.

Tech millionaire Miles Cookson has more money than he can ever spend, and everything he could dream of—except time. He has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and there is a fifty percent chance that it can be passed on to the next generation. For Miles, this means taking a long hard look at his past…

Two decades ago, a young, struggling Miles was a sperm donor. Somewhere out there, he has kids—nine of them. And they might be about to inherit both the good and the bad from him—maybe his fortune, or maybe something much worse.

… One by one, Miles’s other potential heirs are vanishing—every trace of them wiped, like they never existed at all.

Who is the vicious killer—another heir methodically erasing rivals? Or is something even more sinister going on?

linwoodbarclay.com

Cycling Arctic Norway – the Lyngen Alps

On By Rick McIn cycling, food, travelLeave a comment

I went to cycle and hike the Lyngen Alps inspired by Matthew’s recommendation.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Starting in the tourist town Tromsø, I cycled out to stay 2 nights at Magic Mountain Lodge is in Lyngseidet.

It’s an excellent adventure hotel that also offers dorm beds for about $35 / night.

I’ll never forget their reindeer stew with lingonberries served me on night #2.

I cycled to enjoy the best views I could get of the Lyngen Alps. Finishing in Nord-Lenangen where I caught the fast ferry back to Tromsø late on a Sunday night.

Click PLAY or watch highlights of my 3 day adventure on YouTube.

Here are a few of the photos I captured.

Reindeer close to the Ferry terminal
Fast ferry back to Tromsø

CBGB – 2013 film

On By Rick McIn movies, musicLeave a comment

I had a PUNK stage.

It was ME New Year’s Even crashing off the dance floor, knocking down the drums at the Calgarian Hotel. The pogo dancing was fierce.

I threw up in a Volkswagen Beetle — woke up in a closet atop all the winter boots.

CBGB is a 2013 film that follows the story of Hilly Kristal‘s New York club from its concept as a venue for Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock ‘n’ roll and punk.

Opened 1973, the dive became a famed venue of punk rock and new wave bands like the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith Group, Blondie, and Talking Heads.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

From the early 1980s onward, CBGB was known for hardcore punk. …

The club closed upon its final concert, played by Patti Smith, on October 15, 2006. …

CBGB’s two rules were that a band must move its own equipment and play mostly original songs …

In 1978, new wave songwriter Elvis Costello would open shows for The Voidoids, while The Police played at CBGB for their first American gigs. …

Hilly Kristal died from complications of lung cancer on August 28, 2007. …

wikipedia

This was one of Alan Rickman’s last films. He died unexpectedly of pancreatic cancer age-69.

OMFUG stands for Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers.

Jain – Makeba

On By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

Jain (Jeanne Louise Galice) is a French singer-songwriter and musician. …

A music video for the single “Makeba” was released to Jain’s official YouTube channel on 30 November 2016. The music video was nominated for Best Music Video at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018 …

wikipedia

The song references Miriam Makeba also known as “Mama Africa”, a South African singer and activist.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Blowback by Peter May

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

A Michelin three-star chef is found dead near Clermont-Ferrand in central France..

Suicide? Murder?

Enzo MacLeod, a man with an Italian mother and Scots father, who teaches forensic science in France arrives 7 years later. He wants to find out what really happened.

The food, wine, and settings are described in great detail. 

This is a mystery for a gourmand.

Once again, Enzo is apparently irresistible to women. God knows why. It usually ends in disaster.

This is Peter May‘s 5th book of the Enzo Files — and the best, so far, in my opinion.

PERFECT Hollywood Blockbuster – Top Gun 2022

On By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

Increasingly critical of Hollywood, I couldn’t have been more impressed with Top Gun: Maverick.

It’s one of the few films I was happier to see on the big screen rather than streaming.

Jennifer Connelly is gorgeous.

Ed Harris awesome, as always.

In fact the entire cast is made up of beautiful people. Stars.

Special effects were totally convincing for me.

Fans love it. 97% of 431 critics on Rotten Tomatoes like it.

YES it’s cornball and over emotional at times. But I cried, so didn’t feel it weakened the film for me.

In the end, this is a Tom Cruise film. He’s onscreen most of the time.

And Tom Cruise has never let me down before. This might be his best movie yet.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Wolf Pack by C.J. Box

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

This is a good one.

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is investigating a drone killing wildlife–and the drone belongs to a mysterious and wealthy man whose son is dating Joe’s own daughter, Lucy.

Meanwhile, bodies are piling up in and around Joe’s district in shocking numbers.

He begins to fear that a pack of four vicious killers working on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel known as the Wolf Pack has arrived